We mark Windrush Day: “They came with the full expectation that they would be treated with respect and kindness…”

On Thursday the Devon Windrush Flag was once again raised at County Hall to mark the arrival of the Empire Windrush and its 492 passengers in Tilbury Dock to begin a new life in Britain.

This Sunday, June 22, is Windrush Day and members of the Celebrating Windrush in Devon group – part of Devon Development Education (DDE) – joined former and current members, the Lord Mayor of Exeter, Devon County Council (DCC) Chair Caroline Leaver and members of DCC’s Leadership Team, including Chief Executive Donna Manson, to mark the occasion.

It was a chance to pay tribute to the UK’s Caribbean community for their immense contribution, and to acknowledge that the Windrush generation encountered hardship, prejudice and abuse – but also kindness.

And finally, the flag raising was also an opportunity to recognise that our county has become increasingly diverse over the last 15 years or so – and, as a society, we are all the better for it.

The 2021 Census showed those who identify as Black or Asian in Devon now amount to just under three per cent of the population (about 23,000 people).

Some of our friends, neighbours, colleagues at work and family members may be the direct descendants of those who, between 1948 and 1971, arrived in the UK from different Caribbean countries and the Indian sub-continent at the express invitation of the UK Government to help rebuild a shattered post-war Britain.

People from countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent, Guyana, and Jamaica answered the call and many of those went on to work within our fledgling NHS, on our bus services and on Britain’s train network.

Dave Samuels’ dad for instance emigrated from Jamaica and was part of the Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963, which directly influenced the passing of the Race Relations Act 1965, which made ‘racial discrimination in public places’ illegal.

It followed the refusal of the Bristol Omnibus Company to hire Black or Asian bus crews and the boycott, and the role that Dave’s father and his colleagues played, helped raise awareness of racial discrimination in Britain.

He said: “It’s really important on days like this to see this flag raised and to celebrate the contribution of people like my dad, and his struggles in him becoming the first black bus driver in Bristol.

“This is the 60^th year since the Race Relations Act was passed and it is important that the contribution made by those who came to rebuild Great Britain are recognised and remembered.”

Other speakers included Ricky Croal whose mother emigrated from Guyana at 15 and the Chair of DDE Des Kumar, a retired Devon police officer whose parents came to Britain in 1962.

Des, who was born on a plantation near the Demerara River in Eastern Guyana, said one of the most common questions he is asked is ‘where do you come from?”

“Of course that’s a terrible question to ask any more,” he said. “However, I’ve always been very happy to answer it.

“There was one chap, he asked ‘do you come far?’. It sounded like a loaded question but before I had a chance to answer he looked at me and said: “Oh, you come from Cornwall then?” It made me laugh! He was a lovely man.”

The experiences, memories, the highs and lows and the feelings of many of those who stepped off the Empire Windrush eight decades ago, were then encapsulated in a mesmerising performance by Neville Connor in the commitee rooms at County Hall.

A one-man show, Neville performed an excerpt of Farewell Jamaica which tells the moving story of a man leaving Jamaica to build a new life in post-war Britain – it was originally written to introduce the themes of diversity and inclusion to young people.

---